Finite strain theory 1

Finite strain theory

In continuum mechanics, the finite strain theory—also called large strain theory, or large deformation
theory—deals with deformations in which both rotations and strains are arbitrarily large, i.e. invalidates the
assumptions inherent in infinitesimal strain theory. In this case, the undeformed and deformed configurations of the
continuum are significantly different and a clear distinction has to be made between them. This is commonly the case
with elastomers, plastically-deforming materials and other fluids and biological soft tissue.

Displacement
A change in the configuration of a
continuum body results in a
displacement. The displacement of a
body has two components: a
rigid-body displacement and a
deformation. A rigid-body
displacement consists of a
simultaneous translation and rotation
of the body without changing its shape
or size. Deformation implies the
change in shape and/or size of the body
from an initial or undeformed
configuration to a current or
deformed configuration
(Figure 1). Figure 1. Motion of a continuum body.
If after a displacement of the
continuum there is a relative displacement between particles, a deformation has occurred. On the other hand, if after
displacement of the continuum the relative displacement between particles in the current configuration is zero i.e. the
distance between particles remains unchanged, then there is no deformation and a rigid-body displacement is said to
have occurred.
The vector joining the positions of a particle in the undeformed configuration and deformed configuration is
called the displacement vector in the Lagrangian description, or in the
Eulerian description, where and are the unit vectors that define the basis of the material (body-frame) and
spatial (lab-frame) coordinate systems, respectively.
A displacement field is a vector field of all displacement vectors for all particles in the body, which relates the
deformed configuration with the undeformed configuration. It is convenient to do the analysis of deformation or
motion of a continuum body in terms of the displacement field. In general, the displacement field is expressed in
terms of the material coordinates as

or in terms of the spatial coordinates as

where are the direction cosines between the material and spatial coordinate systems with unit vectors and
, respectively. Thus

and the relationship between and is then given by

Finite strain theory 2

Knowing that

then

It is common to superimpose the coordinate systems for the undeformed and deformed configurations, which results
in , and the direction cosines become Kronecker deltas, i.e.

Thus, we have

or in terms of the spatial coordinates as

Displacement gradient tensor

The partial derivative of the displacement vector with respect to the material coordinates yields the material
displacement gradient tensor . Thus we have,

where is the deformation gradient tensor.

Similarly, the partial derivative of the displacement vector with respect to the spatial coordinates yields the spatial
displacement gradient tensor . Thus we have,
Finite strain theory 3

Deformation gradient tensor

Consider a particle or material point
with position vector
in the undeformed configuration
(Figure 2). After a displacement of the
body, the new position of the particle
indicated by in the new
configuration is given by the vector
position . The coordinate
systems for the undeformed and
deformed configuration can be
superimposed for convenience.

Consider now a material point

neighboring , with position vector
. In
the deformed configuration this
particle has a new position given by
the position vector .
Assuming that the line segments
and joining the particles and Figure 2. Deformation of a continuum body.
in both the undeformed and
deformed configuration, respectively,
to be very small, then we can express them as and . Thus from Figure 2 we have

where is the relative displacement vector, which represents the relative displacement of with respect to
in the deformed configuration.
For an infinitesimal element , and assuming continuity on the displacement field, it is possible to use a Taylor
series expansion around point , neglecting higher-order terms, to approximate the components of the relative
displacement vector for the neighboring particle as

Thus, the previous equation can be written as

The material deformation gradient tensor is a second-order tensor that represents the
gradient of the mapping function or functional relation , which describes the motion of a continuum. The
material deformation gradient tensor characterizes the local deformation at a material point with position vector ,
i.e. deformation at neighbouring points, by transforming (linear transformation) a material line element emanating
Finite strain theory 4

from that point from the reference configuration to the current or deformed configuration, assuming continuity in the
mapping function , i.e. differentiable function of and time , which implies that cracks and voids do not open or close
during the deformation. Thus we have,

The deformation gradient tensor is related to both the reference and current
configuration, as seen by the unit vectors and , therefore it is a two-point tensor.
Due to the assumption of continuity of , has the inverse , where is the spatial
deformation gradient tensor. Then, by the implicit function theorem (Lubliner), the Jacobian determinant
must be nonsingular, i.e.

Time-derivative of the deformation gradient

Calculations that involve the time-dependent deformation of a body often require a time derivative of the
deformation gradient to be calculated. A geometrically consistent definition of such a derivative requires an
excursion into differential geometry[1] but we avoid those issues in this article.
The time derivative of is

where is the velocity. The derivative on the right hand side represents a material velocity gradient. It is
common to convert that into a spatial gradient, i.e.,

where is the spatial velocity gradient. If the spatial velocity gradient is constant, the above equation can be
solved exactly to give

assuming at . There are several methods of computing the exponential above.

Related quantities often used in continuum mechanics are the rate of deformation tensor and the spin tensor
defined, respectively, as:

The rate of deformation tensor gives the rate of stretching of line elements while the spin tensor indicates the rate of
rotation or vorticity of the motion.

Transformation of a surface and volume element

To transform quantities that are defined with respect to areas in a deformed configuration to those relative to areas in
a reference configuration, and vice versa, we use Nanson's relation, expressed as

where is an area of a region in the deformed configuration, is the same area in the reference configuration,
and is the outward normal to the area element in the current configuration while is the outward normal in the
reference configuration, is the deformation gradient, and .
The corresponding formula for the transformation of the volume element is
Finite strain theory 5

Derivation of Nanson's relation

To see how this formula is derived, we start with the oriented area elements in the reference and current configurations:

The reference and current volumes of an element are

where .
Therefore,

or,

so,

So we get

or,

Polar decomposition of the deformation gradient tensor

The deformation gradient , like any
second-order tensor, can be
decomposed, using the polar
decomposition theorem, into a product
of two second-order tensors (Truesdell
and Noll, 1965): an orthogonal tensor
and a positive definite symmetric
tensor, i.e.

where the tensor is a proper

orthogonal tensor, i.e.
and , representing a
rotation; the tensor is the right
stretch tensor; and the left stretch
tensor. The terms right and left means
that they are to the right and left of the
rotation tensor , respectively.
and are both positive definite, i.e. Figure 3. Representation of the polar decomposition of the deformation gradient

and ,
and symmetric tensors, i.e. and , of second order.
This decomposition implies that the deformation of a line element in the undeformed configuration onto in
the deformed configuration, i.e. , may be obtained either by first stretching the element by , i.e.
, followed by a rotation , i.e. ; or equivalently, by applying a rigid rotation
first, i.e. , followed later by a stretching , i.e. (See Figure 3).
It can be shown that,
Finite strain theory 6

so that and have the same eigenvalues or principal stretches, but different eigenvectors or principal directions
and , respectively. The principal directions are related by

This polar decomposition is unique as is non-symmetric.

Deformation tensors
Several rotation-independent deformation tensors are used in mechanics. In solid mechanics, the most popular of
these are the right and left Cauchy-Green deformation tensors.
Since a pure rotation should not induce any stresses in a deformable body, it is often convenient to use
rotation-independent measures of deformation in continuum mechanics. As a rotation followed by its inverse rotation
leads to no change ( ) we can exclude the rotation by multiplying by its transpose.

The Right Cauchy-Green deformation tensor

In 1839, George Green introduced a deformation tensor known as the right Cauchy-Green deformation tensor or
Green's deformation tensor, defined as[2][3]:

Physically, the Cauchy-Green tensor gives us the square of local change in distances due to deformation, i.e.

Invariants of are often used in the expressions for strain energy density functions. The most commonly used
invariants are

The Finger deformation tensor

The IUPAC recommends[3] that the inverse of the right Cauchy-Green deformation tensor (called the Cauchy tensor
in that document), i. e., , be called the Finger tensor. However, that nomenclature is not universally accepted
in applied mechanics.

The Left Cauchy-Green or Finger deformation tensor

Reversing the order of multiplication in the formula for the right Green-Cauchy deformation tensor leads to the left
Cauchy-Green deformation tensor which is defined as:

The left Cauchy-Green deformation tensor is often called the Finger deformation tensor, named after Josef Finger
(1894).[3][4][5]
Invariants of are also used in the expressions for strain energy density functions. The conventional invariants are
defined as
Finite strain theory 7

where is the determinant of the deformation gradient.

For nearly incompressible materials, a slightly different set of invariants is used:

The Cauchy deformation tensor

Earlier in 1828,[6] Augustin Louis Cauchy introduced a deformation tensor defined as the inverse of the left
Cauchy-Green deformation tensor, . This tensor has also been called the Piola tensor[3] and the Finger
tensor[7] in the rheology and fluid dynamics literature.

Spectral representation
If there are three distinct principal stretches , the spectral decompositions of and is given by

Furthermore,

Observe that

Therefore the uniqueness of the spectral decomposition also implies that . The left stretch ( ) is
also called the spatial stretch tensor while the right stretch ( ) is called the material stretch tensor.
The effect of acting on is to stretch the vector by and to rotate it to the new orientation , i.e.,

In a similar vein,
Finite strain theory 8

Examples

Uniaxial extension of an incompressible material

This is the case where a specimen is stretched in 1-direction with a stretch ratio of . If the volume remains constant, the contraction in the
other two directions is such that or . Then:

Simple shear

Rigid body rotation

Derivatives of stretch
Derivatives of the stretch with respect to the right Cauchy-Green deformation tensor are used to derive the
stress-strain relations of many solids, particularly hyperelastic materials. These derivatives are

and follow from the observations that

Physical interpretation of deformation tensors

Let be a Cartesian coordinate system defined on the undeformed body and let be
another system defined on the deformed body. Let a curve in the undeformed body be parametrized using
. Its image in the deformed body is .
The undeformed length of the curve is given by

After deformation, the length becomes

Finite strain theory 9

Note that the right Cauchy-Green deformation tensor is defined as

Hence,

which indicates that changes in length are characterized by .

Finite strain tensors

The concept of strain is used to evaluate how much a given displacement differs locally from a rigid body
displacement (Ref. Lubliner). One of such strains for large deformations is the Lagrangian finite strain tensor, also
called the Green-Lagrangian strain tensor or Green – St-Venant strain tensor, defined as

or as a function of the displacement gradient tensor

or

The Green-Lagrangian strain tensor is a measure of how much differs from . It can be shown that this tensor is
a special case of a general formula for Lagrangian strain tensors (Hill 1968):

For different values of we have:

The Eulerian-Almansi finite strain tensor, referenced to the deformed configuration, i.e. Eulerian description, is
defined as

or as a function of the displacement gradients we have

Finite strain theory 10

Derivation of the Lagrangian and Eulerain finite strain tensors

A measure of deformation is the difference between the squares of the differential line element , in the
undeformed configuration, and , in the deformed configuration (Figure 2). Deformation has occurred if the
difference is non zero, otherwise a rigid-body displacement has occurred. Thus we have,

In the Lagrangian description, using the material coordinates as the frame of reference, the linear transformation
between the differential lines is

Then we have,

where are the components of the right Cauchy-Green deformation tensor, . Then, replacing this
equation into the first equation we have,

or

where , are the components of a second-order tensor called the Green – St-Venant strain tensor or the
Lagrangian finite strain tensor,

In the Eulerian description, using the spatial coordinates as the frame of reference, the linear transformation between
the differential lines is

where are the components of the spatial deformation gradient tensor, . Thus we have

where the second order tensor is called Cauchy's deformation tensor, . Then we have,
Finite strain theory 11

or

where , are the components of a second-order tensor called the Eulerian-Almansi finite strain tensor,

Both the Lagrangian and Eulerian finite strain tensors can be conveniently expressed in terms of the displacement
gradient tensor. For the Lagrangian strain tensor, first we differentiate the displacement vector with
respect to the material coordinates to obtain the material displacement gradient tensor,

Replacing this equation into the expression for the Lagrangian finite strain tensor we have

or

Similarly, the Eulerian-Almansi finite strain tensor can be expressed as

Finite strain theory 12

Stretch ratio
The stretch ratio is a measure of the extensional or normal strain of a differential line element, which can be defined
at either the undeformed configuration or the deformed configuration.
The stretch ratio for the differential element (Figure) in the direction of the unit vector at the
material point , in the undeformed configuration, is defined as

where is the deformed magnitude of the differential element .

Similarly, the stretch ratio for the differential element (Figure), in the direction of the unit vector at
the material point , in the deformed configuration, is defined as

The normal strain in any direction can be expressed as a function of the stretch ratio,

This equation implies that the normal strain is zero, i.e. no deformation, when the stretch is equal to unity. Some
materials, such as elastometers can sustain stretch ratios of 3 or 4 before they fail, whereas traditional engineering
materials, such as concrete or steel, fail at much lower stretch ratios, perhaps of the order of 1.001 (reference?)

Physical interpretation of the finite strain tensor

The diagonal components of the Lagrangian finite strain tensor are related to the normal strain, e.g.

where is the normal strain or engineering strain in the direction .

The off-diagonal components of the Lagrangian finite strain tensor are related to shear strain, e.g.

where is the change in the angle between two line elements that were originally perpendicular with directions
and , respectively.
Under certain circumstances, i.e. small displacements and small displacement rates, the components of the
Lagrangian finite strain tensor may be approximated by the components of the infinitesimal strain tensor

Derivation of the physical interpretation of the Lagrangian and Eulerian finite strain tensors

The stretch ratio for the differential element (Figure) in the direction of the unit vector at the
material point , in the undeformed configuration, is defined as

where is the deformed magnitude of the differential element .

Similarly, the stretch ratio for the differential element (Figure), in the direction of the unit vector at
the material point , in the deformed configuration, is defined as

The square of the stretch ratio is defined as

Finite strain theory 13

Knowing that

we have

where and are unit vectors.

The normal strain or engineering strain in any direction can be expressed as a function of the stretch ratio,

Thus, the normal strain in the direction at the material point may be expressed in terms of the stretch ratio as

solving for we have

The shear strain, or change in angle between two line elements and initially perpendicular, and oriented
in the principal directions and , respectivelly, can also be expressed as a function of the stretch ratio. From the
dot product between the deformed lines and we have

where is the angle between the lines and in the deformed configuration. Defining as the shear
strain or reduction in the angle between two line elements that were originally perpendicular, we have

thus,

then

or
Finite strain theory 14

Deformation tensors in curvilinear coordinates

A representation of deformation tensors in curvilinear coordinates is useful for many problems in continuum
mechanics such as nonlinear shell theories and large plastic deformations. Let be a given
deformation where the space is characterized by the coordinates . The tangent vector to the coordinate
curve at is given by

The three tangent vectors at form a basis. These vectors are related the reciprocal basis vectors by

Let us define a field

The Christoffel symbols of the first kind can be expressed as

To see how the Christoffel symbols are related to the Right Cauchy-Green deformation tensor let us define two sets
of bases

The deformation gradient in curvilinear coordinates

Using the definition of the gradient of a vector field in curvilinear coordinates, the deformation gradient can be
written as

The right Cauchy-Green tensor in curvilinear coordinates

The right Cauchy-Green deformation tensor is given by

If we express in terms of components with respect to the basis { } we have

Therefore

and the Christoffel symbol of the first kind may be written in the following form.
Finite strain theory 15

Some relations between deformation measures and Christoffel symbols

Let us consider a one-to-one mapping from to and let us assume that
there exist two positive definite, symmetric second-order tensor fields and that satisfy

Then,

Noting that

and we have

Define

Hence

Define

Then

Define the Christoffel symbols of the second kind as

Then
Finite strain theory 16

Therefore

The invertibility of the mapping implies that

We can also formulate a similar result in terms of derivatives with respect to . Therefore

Compatibility conditions
The problem of compatibility in continuum mechanics involves the determination of allowable single-valued
continuous fields on bodies. These allowable conditions leave the body without unphysical gaps or overlaps after a
deformation. Most such conditions apply to simply-connected bodies. Additional conditions are required for the
internal boundaries of multiply connected bodies.

Compatibility of the deformation gradient

The necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a compatible field over a simply connected body are
Finite strain theory 17

Compatibility of the right Cauchy-Green deformation tensor

The necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a compatible field over a simply connected body are

We can show these are the mixed components of the Riemann-Christoffel curvature tensor. Therefore the necessary
conditions for -compatibility are that the Riemann-Christoffel curvature of the deformation is zero.

Compatibility of the left Cauchy-Green deformation tensor

No general sufficiency conditions are known for the left Cauchy-Green deformation tensor in three-dimensions.
Compatibility conditions for two-dimensional fields have been found by Janet Blume.[8][9]

References
[1] A. Yavari, J.E. Marsden, and M. Ortiz, On spatial and material covariant balance laws in elasticity, Journal of Mathematical Physics, 47,
2006, 042903; pp. 1-53.
[2] The IUPAC recommends that this tensor be called the Cauchy strain tensor.
[3] A. Kaye, R. F. T. Stepto, W. J. Work, J. V. Aleman (Spain), A. Ya. Malkin (1998). "Definition of terms relating to the non-ultimate
mechanical properties of polymers" (http:/ / old. iupac. org/ reports/ 1998/ 7003kaye/ index. html). Pure & Appl. Chem 70 (3): 701–754. .
[4] Eduardo N. Dvorkin, Marcela B. Goldschmit, 2006 Nonlinear Continua (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=MVqa05_2QmAC&
pg=PA25), p. 25, Springer ISBN 3-540-24985-0.
[5] The IUPAC recommends that this tensor be called the Green strain tensor.
[6] Jirásek,Milan; Bažant, Z. P. (2002) Inelastic analysis of structures (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=8mz-xPdvH00C& pg=PA463),
Wiley, p. 463 ISBN 0-471-98716-6
[7] J. N. Reddy, David K. Gartling (2000) The finite element method in heat transfer and fluid dynamics (http:/ / books. google. com/
books?id=sv0VKLL5lWUC& pg=PA317), p. 317, CRC Press ISBN 1-4200-8598-0.
[8] Blume, J. A. (1989). "Compatibility conditions for a left Cauchy-Green strain field". J. Elasticity 21: 271–308. doi:10.1007/BF00045780.
[9] Acharya, A. (1999). "On Compatibility Conditions for the Left Cauchy–Green Deformation Field in Three Dimensions" (http:/ / imechanica.
org/ files/ B-compatibility. pdf). Journal of Elasticity 56 (2): 95–105. doi:10.1023/A:1007653400249. .

Further reading
• Dill, Ellis Harold (2006). Continuum Mechanics: Elasticity, Plasticity, Viscoelasticity (http://books.google.
com/?id=Nn4kztfbR3AC). Germany: CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-9779-0.
• Dimitrienko, Yuriy (2011). Nonlinear Continuum Mechanics and Large Inelastic Deformations (http://books.
google.com/books?as_isbn=9789400700338). Germany: Springer. ISBN 978-94-007-0033-8.
• Hutter, Kolumban; Klaus Jöhnk (2004). Continuum Methods of Physical Modeling (http://books.google.com/
?id=B-dxx724YD4C). Germany: Springer. ISBN 3-540-20619-1.
• Lubarda, Vlado A. (2001). Elastoplasticity Theory (http://books.google.com/?id=1P0LybL4oAgC). CRC
Press. ISBN 0-8493-1138-1.
• Lubliner, Jacob (2008). Plasticity Theory (Revised Edition) (http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/~coby/plas/pdf/
book.pdf). Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-46290-0.
• Macosko, C. W. (1994). Rheology: principles, measurement and applications. VCH Publishers.
ISBN 1-56081-579-5.
• Mase, George E. (1970). Continuum Mechanics (http://books.google.com/?id=bAdg6yxC0xUC).
McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 0-07-040663-4.
• Mase, G. Thomas; George E. Mase (1999). Continuum Mechanics for Engineers (http://books.google.com/
?id=uI1ll0A8B_UC) (Second ed.). CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-1855-6.
• Nemat-Nasser, Sia (2006). Plasticity: A Treatise on Finite Deformation of Heterogeneous Inelastic Materials
(http://books.google.com/?id=5nO78Rt0BtMC). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Finite strain theory 18

ISBN 0-521-83979-3.
• Rees, David (2006). Basic Engineering Plasticity – An Introduction with Engineering and Manufacturing
Applications (http://books.google.com/?id=4KWbmn_1hcYC). Butterworth-Heinemann.
ISBN 0-7506-8025-3.

External links
• Prof. Amit Acharya's notes on compatibility on iMechanica (http://www.imechanica.org/node/3786)
Article Sources and Contributors 19

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